Today, we sent out our first round of contracts.
Once the word got out, we started receiving phone calls & emails from applicants who felt overlooked, hurt, and confused that they weren't hired.
This was a problem last year, and it's one of the pitfalls of hiring in rounds verses hiring all-at-once.
Let me explain those two terms.
HIRING ALL-AT-ONCE
A process of hiring seasonal staff when the employer waits until every position has been filled, and extends everyone an offer of employment at the same time.
Hiring this way is not really a good idea. If we waited until enough people applied to fill every position, we would probably be waiting until May to send out contracts & paperwork. People might accept other summer jobs, lose interest, and/or feel insecure about their summer plans.
HIRING IN ROUNDS
A process of hiring seasonal staff when the employer hires staff after determining where they would be most successful, extending offers of employment as soon as possible.
Hiring in rounds solves a lot of the problems that would be created by hiring all-at-once. It gives us time to replace drop-outs and allows our future employees to plan ahead.
The downside is that it creates a new problem: Staff who apply but aren't hired wonder why they weren't accepted.
So let me offer you the most common explanation.
THE ANSWER
Let's say that someone applies for camp who can surf, mountain bike, and skateboard. This person has three special talent areas that can be utilized at PSR, but what if no one else has applied for any of those jobs yet?
This is a problem. We have one staff member and three positions that need to be filled.
So we wait. We wait to see who else applies to teach surfing, mountain biking, and skateboarding while keeping in mind that we have someone who can do all three. Eventually we place everyone (included our most talented staff) where they can be successful and useful for camp ministry.
WHY YOU SHOULDN'T WORRY
Hiring in rounds means that (as of right now) we've only hired about half of our camp staff. No one has been overlooked, and we know that there are lots of talented applicants still in the mix. Every applicant is considered with thoughtfulness and prayer as we build the best staff for our 2014 season.
Blessings!
~Jeremy
P.S.
If you're still reading this blog post, I will provide a bit more detail about the contract groups and dates.
Contract Group #1
February 18th - first round of hiring letters (blue group)
March 18th - second round of hiring letters (green group)
April 1st - We send contracts to everyone who accepted offers of employment in the blue & green groups.
Contract Group #2
April 17th (estimate) - third round of hiring letters (yellow group)
April 28th - We send contracts to everyone who accepted offers of employment in the yellow group.
Contract Group #3
May 15th (estimate) - last round of hiring letters (pink group)
May 26th - We send contracts to everyone who accepted offers of employment in the pink group.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
90% of the spaces in our Ropes Course activities fill up before May 31st.
Ropes Course is usually the first class to fill-up, and now that we've added the more advanced class (Ropes Course & Bouldering) we expect to schedule almost every space before the end of May.
~Jeremy
Monday, March 31, 2014
Even more pages from our 2014 camp brochure...
More pages coming tomorrow! Let us know if you'd like to receive one by emailing psrcamp@seccsda.org.
~Jeremy
Thursday, March 27, 2014
More pages from our 2014 Camp Brochure!
These went out in the mail on Monday. Let us know if you'd like to receive one by emailing psrcamp@seccsda.org.
-Jeremy
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Staff Metrics
During our hiring period, the returning staff often have a lot of questions. I decided to publish a list of metrics to address some of your most pressing questions.
1) Applicants (3/18/2014)
Total number of interviewees: 152
Total number of applications: 124
Applications from returning staff: 54
Applications from new staff: 70
2) Applicant Interviews by School
La Sierra University: 27
Pacific Union College: 20
Southern Adventist University: 12
Andrews University: 4
Oakwood College: 3
Loma Linda University: 2
Chaffey College: 2
Crafton Hills College: 2
Union College: 2
College Graduates: 4
Other (high school & colleges with one applicant only): 74
3) Hiring Groups
February 18th: 16 applicants accepted offers of employment
March 18th: 29 applicants extended offers of employment
Returning/New
Returning Staff: 25
New Staff: 20
Males/Females
Male: 25
Female: 20
4) Available Work (subject to change)
Leadership: No available positions
Staff: 35 positions available
Kitchen: 10 positions available
-Jeremy
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
What Happened to Horsemanship?
Friends,
For the summer season of 2014, we will not be offering any horsemanship activities at PSR Camp for the following two reasons:
1) All of our horse trails are currently unsafe for horses. These trails winded through areas of dense, overlapping root systems which were destroyed by the fire. When the roots burned away, they left behind empty cavities beneath the ground. Erosion will eventually cause the cavities to heal, but horses could be injured if we use the trails too soon.
2) Quality Assurance. We've been offering four different horsemanship programs every year (Beginning, Western, English, & Teen) and our camp family has come to expect a high level of safety and quality. It's been suggested that we make the program much smaller, offer arena-only classes, and make those classes more about learning horsemanship than riding horses. After examining all of the issues, we've elected not to change our program into a pale shadow of what it's been in the past.
I know a lot of people are aware of this issue, and many of them have called us because they've heard a lot of different information. I hope that the two reason listed above make sense to all of our customers, and I would encourage everyone to look forward to 2015 when we hopefully will be able to bring back the horsemanship program.
Blessings,
Jeremy
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